Kurt Bills (MN)

THE CANDIDATE

Name: Kurt Bills

Age: 42Hometown: Apple Valley, MN

Family: Kurt and his wife, Cindy, have been married for 17 years and are parents of 4 children ranging in age from 5 to 14.

Personal Biography: Kurt Bills is a high school economics teacher, a volunteer coach at Rosemount High School, and a small-business owner with his wife, Cindy, running a home-based daycare. He graduated from Winona State University, receiving his B.S. in Secondary Social Studies Education and his B.A. in U.S. History. He subsequently earned his M.A. in Education.

Political Biography: In 2008, Bills ran for Rosemount City Council in a field of 26 candidates. He won his seat without putting up a single yard sign. He ran for the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2010 in District 37B and successfully defeated incumbent Democrat Rep. Phil Sterner by 58%-to-42%. In March of 2012, Bills announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate, a seat currently held by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D).

THE RACE

State Convention (candidate selection): May 18-19, 2012

General Election: November 6, 2012

The District: Bills faces five opponents in the Republican Primary. The nominee will be selected on May 18 and 19 by the roughly 2,200 state delegates at the Republican State Convention. As a result of Ron Paul's strong caucus performance in Minnesota, Bills is the current front-runner for the nomination. In the general elections, Bills will face the Democratic incumbant Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who won her first term in 2006 with 58% of the vote. Klobuchar supports Obamacare, stimulus spending, and more government regulation on business and the economy.

THE ISSUES

Economics

Supports passing a budget -- the first since 2009

Supports a full audit of the Federal Reserve

Understands the danger of the "inflation tax"

Opposes all spending bills which would increase the debt limit or create an unbalanced budget

Opposes corporate welfare

Opposes all tax increases

Supports restructuring the tax code for greater simplicity

Foreign Policy

Believes only Congress can declare war

Opposes War in Iraq

Opposes War in Afghanistan

Opposed Obama's intervention in Libya

Opposes foreign aid

Opposes Nation Building

Supports a non-interventionist foreign policy that puts America first

Civil Liberties

Opposes the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)

Opposes the PATRIOT Act

Opposes TSA

Opposes SOPA and all restrictions on internet freedom

Federalism & the 10th Amendment

Supports federalism on all legislation not specifically authorized in the Constitution